Automotive Technology Mission of India

Indian automotive industry is contributing a significant portion to overall Indian's GDP. This sector is growing and promising a lucrative future. Automotive sector also provides wide business and employment opportunities.

Indian automotive industry, today, is in a transition stage. In the past, operating in a license regime, Indian automotive industry has been accustomed to buying most of its technology needs from outside and did not give much importance to development of indigenous technology.

With the liberalization of economy, the decades old monopolistic environment of the Indian automotive industry where only a handful of vehicle models were available with a long waiting list, gradually gave way to a highly competitive, complex and rapidly changing market which was not limited to domestic market alone. Today the number of vehicle models available are more than hundred and not a month goes without offerings of newer and more advanced model. Today the market is customer driven with performance, cost, fuel economy and reliability being the key drivers.

At the same time the Govt. of India has forced (and will continue to do so in future) more stringent emission regulations which calls for introduction of a host of advanced emission abatement and other technologies. The market has slowly become a technology driven market where MNCs are using "technology forcing" as a route to keep their market share. Thus the need for Indian automotive industry to develop/ acquire a range of new technologies in a very short time has never been so acute .This situation will continue to be so in future as well.

Ironically for the Indian automotive industry, the cost of technology development has increased manifold and increasing product cost has put a squeeze on profit margins affecting their ability to outsource expensive technologies. Moreover, the technologies are not so easily available any more from outside. Instead of giving a license or setting up joint ventures with an Indian industry, many intentionally renowned automobile manufactures have started production in India to take advantage of great commercial opportunities Indian markets offers. Even in the existing joint ventures, the control has slowing moved into hands of MNCs. In order to compete and retain their market share in the face of this onslaught by global automotive leaders , the Indian automotive industry have to urgently upgrade its technological capabilities. It must leap frog the technological gap if they desire to remain competitive in domestic as well as global market. The Indian automotive companies still have option of accessing the global knowledge. But the past experience is that, the key technologies are either not available at all for sale or if available, they are prohibitively expensive to remain competitive in the market place.

Some of the issues we face are unique to India (such that 70% of our vehicle population consists of two wheelers and 7 out of the 10 dirtiest cities are in India) and innovative technologies relevant to its need are needed. Three wheelers are unique to our market and no technologies are available from advanced countries to optimize such vehicles. We also need to improve significantly the fuel economy of our vehicles .We import 72 % of our petroleum requirement which is likely to go up to 92 % by the 2020. This will also lead to reduction in CO2 emissions. Weight reduction using advanced materials is a key area which needs strong technology development emphasis.

Indian automotive industry urgently needs technologies to produce fuel efficient, environmental friendly, lighter, safer and cost competitive engines, and vehicles. Advanced materials and manufacturing techniques, technologies for using alternative fuels, emission abatement, fuel economy improvement , safety enhancement, engine management systems, embedded vehicle control system are some of the areas where we must focus our efforts.

The scope of the projects under this mission spans a wide range of technologies which aim to meet our national needs. The projects proposed emphasize on development of advance materials, clean and fuel efficient technologies

Mission Objectives, Deliverables, and Impact

Objectives

The principal objectives of TDM- Phase II Automotive Technologies Mission are to

• Provide advance materials for automotive applications
• Develop fuel efficient engines and vehicles
• Develop environmentally friendly technologies
• Provide a Hydrogen fuelled I.C Engine
• Enhance use of alternative fuels like biodiesel
• Improve manufacturing technologies
• Develop Technologies to enhance safety of vehicle
• Improve engine noise
• Improved materials and manufacturing processes
• Develop Energy efficient automotive electrical/electronic systems
• Intelligent vehicle development
• Embedded control systems
• Corrosion resistant material and technologies
• Automotive safety technologies

Specific objectives of individual projects are listed under each project (see Annexure I.)

Deliverables

The trust areas for the Automotive Technology Mission are:

A) Energy Efficiency & Alternative Fuel Technologies
B) Automotive Safety
C) Automotive electronics & Control
D) Advanced Automotive Materials

The specific deliverables from these projects include work in these broad areas are given below:

A) Energy Efficiency & Alternative Fuel Technologies

• An efficient two wheeler engine
• An fully functional electronic management system (EMS) for common rail diesel engines
• A fully functional hydrogen fueled passenger bus engine
• A fully functional Electric vehicle
• Biodiesel production plant and machinery
• Fuel cells vehicle

B) Automotive Safety

• An automotive engine meeting Euro III engine noise regulations
• A vehicle Driving Simulator
• Development of a drop tower test facility

C) Automotive Electronics & Control

• Embedded systems for automotive test , monitoring and diagnosis
• Embedded multi-sensor network for vehicle health monitoring
• Intelligent vehicle with software control for remote and hostile environment
• Development of specific ICs and CAD tools

D) Advanced Automotive Materials

• Aluminum foam for automotive application
• Technology for laser assisted welding
• Steel , Mg and AL alloys with better corrosion resistance
• Multilayered ceramic inserts for dry machining
• Newer brake pad materials
• Sensor of corrosion measurement and a cathodic protection system
• Newer Al-Li alloys
• Corrosion resistant Pb- free solder alloy

Impact

The impact of the deliverables will be significant in many ways:

• The deliverables target the urgently needed technologies for the Indian automotive industry,
• The projects specially target the environmental needs of India.
• The deliverables emphasize development of low cost
• Many of the technologies proposed are cutting edge, state-of-the –art in nature and will help Indian automotive industry to leap frog into advanced areas and be highly competitive in domestic and international market

http://lcm.csa.iisc.ernet.in/TDM/auto.html

Globalization hitting our auto industry

http://auto.indiamart.com/cgi-local/autonews-news-link.pl?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ethestar%2Ecom%2FBusiness%2Farticle%2F211079


Honda to Challenge Suzuki in India With Small Car

03/05/2007 19:37. May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., Japan's second-biggest largest carmaker, will start making its first small car model in India in 2009 to enter a segment that comprises three-quarters of all cars sold in the South Asian country.

The new car will be produced at a new factory in the western state of Rajasthan, Masahiro Takedagawa, chief executive officer of the local unit Honda Siel Cars India Ltd., said in an interview in the state's capital Jaipur today. The company will invest about 30 billion rupees ($728 million) on the project, he said.

The introduction of a small car will help boost Honda's presence in Asia's fourth-biggest auto market, where annual sales are forecast to triple to 3 million units by 2016. Honda will compete with Suzuki Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aw8gBZL_XtHY

BMW Chennai facility goes on stream

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/30/stories/2007033001672000.htm

Honda Unveils Plans for New Plant in Rajasthan
http://world.honda.com/news/2007/c070503NewPlantinRajasthan/


Tata Motors acquires Nissan facility in S. Africa

eneva March 7 Tata Motors' global manufacturing plans have got a boost with the acquisition of a facility in South Africa. After the end of the Rover deal in the UK, Tata Motors could have a more concrete foray into the European markets when the facility starts manufacturing the company's vehicles.

The currently empty manufacturing facility, located in Pretoria, near Johannesburg, was previously owned and operated by Nissan Motor of Japan.

http://www.blonnet.com/2007/03/08/stories/2007030806240200.htm

China's entry to India's small car segment.

Chery QQ popula model

Chery Automobiles, China's largest car-maker, is likely to team up with Delhi-based International Cars & Motors Ltd, makers of Sonalika tractors, to introduce a small car in India next year.

L D Mittal, chairman, ICML, said his company was negotiating with several car manufacturers to introduce the right kind of compact car. He did not deny that Chery was one of them.

"We are planning to launch a premium hatchback in the Rs 300,000-400,000 price range, which is the fastest-growing car segment in India," Mittal told Business Standard.

Chery, with factories in Iran, Russia, Malaysia, Egypt and Pakistan, is keen on a footprint in India in its bid to become a large Asian car-maker. "Chery has a bouquet of small cars that suits the Indian market. It dominates the compact and hatchback segment in China and specialises in the small-car technology currently in demand in India," a source said.

Industry sources said ICML is planning to manufacture Chery products at competitive prices from its tax-free production facility at Amb in Himachal Pradesh. "The 24 per cent excise break will translate into a major price gain for the ICML-Chery marriage. We are also in constant touch with ICML for any potential ancillary supplies for new products," a component manufacturer said.

ICML-Chery will be competing for the A2 segment which accounts for 80 per cent of the passenger car market, up from 54 per cent in 2003.

With Toyota, Honda, Ford and Mitsubishi planning to launch small cars, the possible Chery-ICML alliance might get to see ample competition. The 1.38-million small-car market in the country is currently dominated by players like Maruti, Tata Motors and Hyundai boasting of about 85 per cent domination. The report added that Chery is targeting more than one million cars by 2010, of which 40 per cent would be driven by overseas sales.